Abstract: An information reproducing apparatus has a medium with a linear tracking mark extending in a scanning direction and a linear data mark extending in a direction orthogonal to the scanning direction. A light control unit irradiates the data mark with a first near-field light polarized in the scanning direction and irradiates the tracking mark with a second near-field light polarized in the direction orthogonal to the scanning direction. A detector detects light scattered by the data mark and the tracking mark irradiated with the first near-field light and the second near-field light, respectively. A signal processing unit processes a first output signal from the detector corresponding to the detected light scattered by the data mark and processes a second output signal from the detector corresponding to the detected light scattered by the tracking mark.

Abstract: A recording head has a conical tip disposed at a distal end thereof configured to oppose a surface of a medium. The conical tip has an opening for generating near-field light and a side surface forming at least a part of an edge portion of the conical tip surrounding the opening. A magnetic recording element generates magnetization inversion in a minute area on the surface of the medium which is heated by application of the near-field light. The magnetic recording element has a main magnetic pole, a secondary magnetic pole, and a dielectric film arranged between the main and secondary magnetic poles. The main magnetic pole comprises a thin film arranged on side surface of the conical tip for providing a magnetic field to the surface of the medium in a substantially vertical direction. The secondary magnetic pole is arranged on a surface of the conical tip opposite to the side surface thereof for absorbing a part of the magnetic field provided from the main magnetic pole.

Abstract: A recording layer is formed on a substrate, and a high thermal conductor having a thermal conductivity higher than that of the recording layer is disposed inside a plurality of recording bit regions constituting the recording layer, respectively. Furthermore, the recording layer is formed with a separating portion which divides the recording layer into the plurality of recording bit regions. The separating layer is filled with a low thermal conductor having a thermal conductivity lower than that of the recording layer.

Abstract: A near field light generating element has a polyhedron core and a clad covering the core so as to contact side surfaces of the core. The polyhedron core has a reflection surface that reflects a luminous flux in a direction different from a direction of introduction of the luminous flux via one end side of the near field light generating element. A luminous flux condensing unit condenses the luminous flux reflected by the reflection surface and propagates the condensed luminous flux to the another end side. A near field light generation unit generates near field light from the propagated condensed luminous flux and emits the near field light to the exterior of the near field light generating element via the another end side. The near field light generation unit has an end surface that is exposed to the exterior on the another end side and has at least one side surface that is shielded by a light-shielding film.

Abstract: A metal film is included which is placed between a core and a cladding, propagates a laser beam along an interface between the core and the cladding, and generates a near-field light from the laser beam. The metal film has a base portion placed on one side surface of the core along a propagation direction of the laser beam facing from one end side toward the other end side, and an extending portion extended from the other end side of the base portion to the other end side in the propagation direction rather than the core. The other end side of the extending portion is exposed to the outside, and is formed with a top portion projected toward the core side when viewed from the propagation direction.

Abstract: A U-shaped groove and a V-shaped groove are formed onto a cladding disposed on a substrate, a core and a metal structure are formed inside the grooves, respectively, and then the substrate surface is planarized. Further, after a cladding is formed again, the substrate is cut and the cut surface is polished such that the metal structure inside the V-shaped groove has a predetermined thickness, thereby forming a scattering body.

Abstract: A near-field optical head has a slider with first and second inclined surfaces that confront a magnetic recording medium during recording and reproduction of information. A recording element is formed on one of the first and second inclined surfaces and includes main and auxiliary magnetic poles stacked together with an insulation film interposed therebetween. An optical flux introducing device introduces an optical flux toward the first and second inclined surfaces of the slider, the optical flux having an optical axis inclined relative to the first and second inclined surfaces. A metal film is formed on the other of the first and second inclined surfaces of the slider for propagating the introduced optical flux along an interface between the first and second inclined surfaces to generate near-field light that is irradiated on the surface of the magnetic recording medium to effect recording and reproduction of information.

Abstract: A near-field light generating element has a core that guides a laser light in a direction of a disk while reflecting the laser light, and a cladding that encapsulates the core in an inner portion, and lengths of a longitudinal direction and a transverse direction of an incident side end surface of the laser light in the core are formed so as to match the lengths of a long axis direction and a short axis direction of the laser light that is entered to the core.

Abstract: A method of manufacturing the near-field light generating element includes a first cladding forming process of forming a first cladding on a substrate, a near-field light generation portion forming process of forming metal film base material on the first cladding, a core forming process of forming the core base material so as to cover the metal film base material, a patterning process of patterning the core base material and the metal film base material to form the core and the metal film, and a second cladding forming process of forming a second cladding so as to interpose the core between the second cladding and the first cladding, wherein, in the patterning process, the core base material and the metal film base material are collectively patterned by the same process.

Abstract: A core includes a first core, and a second core covering a side surface of the first core, and is formed in a polygonal shape when viewed from a Z direction. A metal film is placed on a side surface in the core, and is formed so that a width of an interface between the metal film and the core is narrower than a width of the side surface of the core.

Abstract: There are provided a head gimbal assembly and an information recording and reproducing apparatus capable of easily positioning a light guiding portion and a slider on a tongue portion and performing a stable recording and reproducing operation.

Abstract: A recording head includes a slider, and a recording element fixed to a side surface of the slider on the side of an outflow end and having a main magnetic pole and an auxiliary magnetic pole which generate a recording magnetic field. A spot light generating element includes a core having a reflecting surface that reflects a luminous flux introduced from one end side to the other end side in a direction different from the direction of introduction and a luminous flux condensing unit configured to generate a spot light by propagating the reflected luminous flux to the other end side while condensing the same, and a clad configured to confine the core in the interior thereof. The spot light generating element is fixed adjacently to the recording element in a state in which the other end side is faced toward a magnetic recording medium.

Abstract: A head using near field light is formed, which is characterized by including a near field light assisted magnetic recording head characterized by including a pyramid tip 43 configured to generate near field light at the tip end thereof, in which magnetic recording is conducted by assistance of the near field light, a magnetic recording element 13 is formed of a first magnetic pole 16a and a second magnetic pole 16b, the first magnetic pole is formed of a first thin film on a first side surface of the tip, the second magnetic pole is formed of a second thin film on a second side surface facing to the first side surface of the tip, and the first thin film and the second thin film have different film thicknesses.

Abstract: A near field optical head includes: a slider provided so as to float from a surface of the magnetic recording medium by a predetermined distance, the slider having a facing surface faced to a surface of the magnetic recording medium; a tipped-shaped near field light generating element formed on the facing surface to have a bottom surface in contact with the facing surface, a top surface formed into a flat surface by cutting a top end of a cone or a pyramid, the flat surface being at a predetermined angle with the bottom surface, and a side surface connecting the bottom surface with the top surface for generating near field light from the top surface; a magnetic pole part formed from a main magnetic pole formed on the side surface and an auxiliary magnetic pole facing the main magnetic pole; a thin film-shaped magnetic circuit connected to the magnetic pole part; and a coil wound around the magnetic circuit.

Abstract: The invention is a near-field optical head that generates near-field light to heat a predetermined area of a medium and applies a magnetic field to the predetermined area to record information, the head including an optical waveguide 103 having a path for propagating a pencil of light, and a tip 117 having an optical minute opening 118 at the position facing against the predetermined area and collecting the pencil of light emitted from the optical waveguide 103 and simultaneously propagating the collected pencil of light to the optical minute opening 118 to generate the near-field light. The optical minute opening 118 is formed by a magnetic pole that applies a magnetic field to the predetermined area.

Abstract: The present invention relates to an information recording and reproduction apparatus which records the information on a disk by heating the disk with near-field light and causing magnetization reversal by applying a recording magnetic field to the disk. A photoelectric composite wiring line 33 is provided in which an optical waveguide 32, which introduces light beam emitted from a laser light source into a slider 2, and a plurality of electric wiring lines 31, which electrically connects the slider 2 and a control unit to each other, are integrally formed. The optical waveguide 32 and the electric wiring line 31 branch off at the distal side of the photoelectric composite wiring line 33 to be routed to the slider 2.

Abstract: A head gimbal assembly includes: a suspension extending along a surface of a recording medium and being flexibly deformable in the thickness direction; a slider arranged so as to oppose the surface of the recording medium on a distal side of the suspension; a supporting portion configured to support the slider in a rotatable state with respect to two axes being parallel to the surface of the recording medium and orthogonal to each other on the opposite side of the slider from the recording medium; and a light waveguide connected to the slider and configured to introduce an optical flux emitted from a light source to the slider. The slider includes a spotlight generating element configured to generate a spotlight from the optical flux, and record data in the recording medium using the spotlight. A positioning portion having a flat surface and being used for positioning between the light waveguide and the slider is arranged between the supporting portion and the slider.

Abstract: There is provided a head gimbal mechanism 2 including a slider 10 placed between a recording medium D and a beam 11 and having a device generating near-field light, gimbal means 12 for fixing the slider to the tip of the beam 11 at a state that it can rotate about two axes which are parallel to the surface of the recording medium and are orthogonal to each other, and a flexible optical waveguide 13 composed of a basic waveguide section 21 placed along the beam and a bent waveguide section 21 that is bent in the Z-direction substantially orthogonal to the surface of the recording medium from the tip of the basic waveguide and connecting to the slider in non-contact with the beam and the gimbal means, the optical waveguide 13 guiding the luminous flux to the slider, wherein the basic waveguide section is placed at a state that at least a predetermined length on the bent waveguide section side relative to the beam is not fixed to the beam.

Abstract: A near-field light head of the present invention includes: a slider disposed opposite to a surface of the magnetic recording medium; a recording element that includes a main magnetic pole generating the recording magnetic field and a subsidiary magnetic pole, the recording element being fixed to an apical surface of the slider so that the main magnetic pole and the subsidiary magnetic pole line up in a longitudinal direction of the slider in the state where the subsidiary magnetic pole is located at the apical surface of the slider; a near-field light generating element, fixed adjacently to the main magnetic pole in a state where another end side thereof is directed to the magnetic recording medium, that propagates the light flux introduced from one end side thereof toward the other end side to generate the near-field light, and radiates the near-field light from the other end side to the outside; and a light flux introducing device, fixed to the slider, that introduces the light flux from the one end side in

Abstract: In an EL element including a light emitting layer sandwiched between upper and lower electrodes, of light emitted therefrom, light totally reflected at a light emitting layer interface is not taken out, so there is a problem in that light emission efficiency reduces. Therefore, a light scattering layer in which metal particles are dispersed is provided between an electrode and the light emitting layer. According to such a structure, the light from the light emitting layer can be scattered by the metal particles and taken out, thereby improving the light emission efficiency. When plasmon is excited in the metal particles, light confined in the light emitting layer or each layer adjacent thereto can be used, thereby improving light use efficiency.